Auxiliary verbs are needed in English for both questions and negative statements. They are grammar words, and typically de-emphasized in speech by being uttered in a very soft voice. They often appear as question-tags in everyday conversation… «You know what I mean, don’t you?»
When we write in informal contexts, we tend to use contractions, and when we speak, we pronounce them so little that you can actually leave them out without causing an awkward effect on the listener, as long as you add the typical rising intonation for YES/No questions:
Spaniards find it very difficult to de-emphasize words or syllables. As a result, we often give the impression of YELLING, and mystify the message by highlighting unimportant or irrelevant words.
Why not take this to your own advantage and make more use of the expressions below! They all involve auxiliary verbs functioning as fully meaningful words (i.e.: conveying lots of relevant information) and hence pronounced Spanish-way, using strong forms…
¤ Disagreeing …
The verbs «do» and «don’t» in the examples below are pro-forms, i.e.: meaningful words with relevant information. And the way we pronounce them differs a lot from their homographic auxiliary verbs.
«
– I love skiing.
– I don’t.
»
«
– I never have sugar in my tea.
– Well, I do.
»
⇐Disagreements with auxiliaries
* * *
Notice how the sound of ‘would’ [əd] as an auxiliary verb has nothing to do with the sound of ‘would’ [wʊd] as a pro-form in the reply:
– Would you like to come trekking with us? – Yes I would.• Short answers . . . →[01]← / →[02]← / →[03]← / →[04]← (quizzes)
¤→http://www.academia.edu/STRONG & WEAK_FORMS_Auxiliary_verbs⇐
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